Matt Anderson
Head Coach
Sixth Year
(Northern Illinois, '97)

    When Matt Anderson took over the helm of Youngstown State’s swimming and diving program five years ago, he came in with lofty goals and a concrete plan to take the Penguins to a new level of success. Now in his sixth season, Anderson has built a solid foundation to achieve those goals and steadily push the program into the upper echelon of the conference and region.
    In Anderson’s first five seasons, the program has experienced unprecedented success since its rebirth in 1996. With Anderson’s guidance, the Penguins have achieved their highest finish ever at the Horizon League Championship, won three individual conference championships and broken 20 school records, nine in the 2007-08 Horizon League Championships.
    In stark contrast, prior to Anderson taking over the helm for the 2003-04 season, only three YSU swimming records had been set since 1996. YSU also finished last in its two years in the Horizon League by an average of nearly 25 points before Anderson arrived. In 2005 the Penguins were out of the basement by 133 points.
    Anderson has also worked to keep Beeghly Natatorium a top-notch facility. Over the past two years, the entire pool has been resurfaced, a new filtration system has been installed and renovations to the lighting and sound systems have been completed.
    Outside of the pool, the Penguins have maintained high academic standards and have been active on campus and in the community. Four student-athletes have earned Academic All-Horizon League honors and Penguins have been named to the League’s honor roll 17 times in the past three seasons. The team’s grade-point average has also consistently ranked among the top of YSU’s programs. Three members of the squad currently serve on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, and the program has recently earned the Horizon League Outreach Award for Community Service.
    Last season Anderson led the Penguins to their best-ever finish at the Horizon League Championships, scoring 295 points and placing fifth out of eight teams. This is a 42.5 point increase from their finish in the 2007-07 season. Thirteen swimmers return from that team to continue YSU's climb up the league standings.  

   The team broke nine school records at the 2008 Horizon League Championships, including the 400 freestyle relay. Alana Kane, Ashley Williamson, Brittany Senn and Megan Rupe posted a time of 3:31.73, breaking the 24 year previous school record of 3:35.41. Freshman Ashley Williamson broke the 100 fly record that had stood since 1985, placing second at the championship. Fourty-one personal-best times were posted at the meet and thirty-six new entries were made to YSU's top ten performers list.  YSU defeated Horizon League opponents Butler in a double-dual meet and Cleveland State in a double-dual meet.                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                At the 2007 Horizon League Championships, YSU got a strong effort from its freestylers to vault ahead of Cleveland State into fifth place on the final day. The two squads were tied before YSU outscored the Vikings 86-52 in the final day.
    The Penguins had outstanding individual efforts that led to the breaking of two school records that had stood for more than 20 years. Brittany Senn, Megan Rupe, Leigh Bareman and Jessica Front teamed up to break the 200 freestyle relay record that had stood since 1986, and Becky Bertuzzi topped the 24-year-old school record in the 200 free in her final collegiate meet. In addition, Rupe's eight-place finish in the 100 free is the top finish for a YSU freshman swimmer since the Penguins joined the Horizon League in 2001.
    Overall at the meet, 21 new entries were made to YSU's all-time list and swimmers posted 23 personal-best times at the Horizon League Championships.  For the year, 36 individual and nine relay entries were added to the top 10 performers list.
    YSU also defeated Horizon League opponents Cleveland State twice and Butler once in dual meets during the year.
    In his third year, Anderson led a young squad to an impressive list of individual accomplishments. The team was small in number coming off the loss of 10 seniors from the previous year, but the Penguins were still competitive and defeated in-state and conference rival Cleveland State in a dual meet for the first time since joining the Horizon League in 2001.
    Olivia Arnold set the school record in the 1,000 free as a freshman, and she posted times that rank her as the second-fastest swimmer in the 500 and 1,650. She was also named the Horizon League Swimmer-of-the-Week twice and was named the squad’s swimming MVP for her efforts. As a team, 29 new individual entries and nine relay entries were added to YSU’s top-10 all-time performers list by the end of the season.
    The 2004-05 season saw the culmination of one of YSU’s best-ever recruiting classes as 10 seniors competed in their final seasons. In two years under Anderson’s leadership, that group went on to break nine school records and win three individual crowns at the league meet.
    At the 2005 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championship, Julia Darling broke the school record in both breaststroke events and had two top-10 finishes. She also swam the breaststroke leg of both of YSU’s record-setting medley relays at the meet. One of those relays - the 200 medley relay - broke a mark that was set in 1984.
    Senior Erin Carter was part of two record-breaking relays. Individually, she finished fourth in the 400 IM and added a fifth-place finish in the 200 fly. Jordan Dunn also broke two records at the conference meet. On the first day of the Championship, she broke a 22-year-old record in the 1,000 free. She then broke a 19-year-old record on the meet’s final day in the 1,650-free.
    Diver Kalyn Leveto also culminated her career by winning the individual conference crown in the 1-meter board and qualified for the NCAA Zone C Championship for the fourth time in her career.
    In Anderson’s first year in 2003-04, the Penguins picked up their first ever victory against a Horizon League opponent and tallied five wins against a strong slate of opponents.
    Anderson earned his first career victory as a head coach against Radford on Oct. 26 as the Penguins won the final four events of the meet to top the Highlanders 153-143. On Feb. 8, YSU earned its first-ever victory over a Horizon League opponent as it defeated the Butler Bulldogs 86-51 in a quadrangular that also featured Wright State and Xavier.
    The Penguins carried the momentum from their Horizon League victory against the Bulldogs into the conference championships to place sixth, the best finish in school history. Carter became the first Penguin swimmer to capture an individual crown at the Horizon League Championship, and Leveto defended her title in 3-meter diving to earn Horizon League Diver of the Year honors for the second-straight season.
    Anderson, who is the ninth head coach in the program’s history, came to YSU from Ohio State where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for four years. He also oversaw the sprint groups for Head Coach Jeanne Fleck, helped run camps, coordinated travel plans, was a key office assistant and was the program’s academic adviser. In each of his years, the team’s grade-point average increased and was as high as 3.36 in 2002. Also, more than 45 athletes were named OSU Scholar-Athletes and more than 30 were academic All-Big Ten selections.
    Before joining the OSU staff, Anderson was the top assistant for the men’s and women’s programs at Northern Illinois University. At NIU, he spent two years as a full-time assistant developing and coaching all aspects of the Huskies’ middle distance swimmers. He served as the program’s recruiting and travel coordinator and was in charge of swimming camps and fund raising for the program.
    Anderson first became involved in coaching from 1994-97 as a volunteer assistant coach at NIU following his swimming career. From 1990-94, he was a three-time letterwinner for the Huskies, earning the team’s most improved swimmer award as a sophomore and being named team captain as a senior.
    He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from NIU In 1997.
    Anderson is certified as a member of the College Swimming Coaches Association, a member of the American Swim Coaches Association and a member of United States Swimming.